


Murphy's Law

by Tweeter (JamieJam)



Category: NCIS
Genre: Angst, Gen, I have no idea what I'm doing, Pre-Twilight
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-16
Updated: 2015-11-22
Packaged: 2018-05-01 21:40:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5221886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamieJam/pseuds/Tweeter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gibbs is framed for murder and Tony gets caught in the fallout.</p><p>Set before the events of Twilight (Kate is alive).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is my sister's story. She wrote it a couple years back but only recently showed me. Long story short, I thought it was amazing and asked if I could post it on AO3. She (reluctantly) agreed. So here you have it!
> 
> This story takes place before Twilight (2x23).

  
His head was pounding and there was a fireworks display going on behind his closed eyelids. Even the slightest movement set off another burst. Taking a shallow, shaky breath, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs slowly opened one eye, then the other. A figure moved into his line of sight, blurry and shadowy.  
  
"Hello Jethro," said the blur. 'How are you feeling, my friend?"  
  
"Where am I?" croaked Gibbs, his throat dry and scratchy.  
  
Doctor Mallard poured a cup of water from a pitcher on the bedside tray and handed it to Gibbs.

"You're in the hospital, it appears you were in some sort of fight. You've got a severe concussion, some internal bleeding and a broken leg,” he said.  
  
Gibbs went to feel his head but found he couldn't raise his right hand, it was handcuffed to the railing.  
  
"What the hell is this?"  
  
"Now, Jethro, please try to stay calm," soothed Ducky.  
  
"Calm? Why am I handcuffed to the bed?"  
  
"Do you remember anything at all, Jethro?"  
  
"No! Ducky, why am I cuffed? What's going on?"  
  
Ducky tried to calm his old friend. "Murphy's been found murdered. He's been stabbed and they found your prints on the knife."  
  
"That's crazy," sputtered Gibbs.  
  
"I know, Jethro, but you were very irate about his acquittal, the police are certain it was you."  
  
Gibbs started coughing, but he continued to fume. "Well, they're wrong. Where's Tony? Kate? What do they say? Get them in here!"  
  
"There's more, Jethro. Tony's in ICU."  
  
Gibbs' face paled. "ICU? Was he there? Did he see what happened? Is he going to be okay?"  
  
"Please, Jethro." Ducky looked worriedly at the monitor tracking Gibbs' heart rate and blood pressure. "If I tell you what they believed happened, will you promise to stay calm?"  
  
"DUCKY!"  
  
"All right! The police believe, and the evidence backs their theory, that you got very drunk after Murphy's trial and decided to confront him, that you went to his house, barged in and started a fight with him. They think Tony knew what you might do and followed you. He heard you fighting with Murphy and tried to stop the two of you. During the course of the confrontation, you stabbed Murphy, then, in a drunken rage, you turned on Tony. He was beaten badly and stabbed multiple times."  
  
"How seriously is Tony injured?" whispered Gibbs.  
  
"It's very serious, I'm afraid. He's lost a great deal of blood. He was stabbed in the torso; his left lung was punctured, as was his spleen. His liver was also damaged. They had to remove the spleen, and luckily, they were able to repair the liver. He's in a coma, on a respirator. They're not sure if he's going to make it."  
  
Gibbs closed his eyes in pain. Not Tony. Please, don't let Tony die. He remembered his last words to Tony had been cruel and cutting.  
  
"I would never hurt Tony like that," he whispered. "No amount of alcohol would make me try to kill him."  
  
"I know, Jethro," replied Ducky soothingly, "but our team has been forbidden from having anything to do with the case. Paula Cassidy and Cassie Yates have been brought in to investigate, as well as another forensic specialist. Of course, the rest of us aren't sitting back twiddling our thumbs. Kate and McGee are going over Murphy's case with a fine-tooth comb, and Abby is re-running tests on the evidence."  
  
"I need to see Tony."  
  
Frowning to himself, Ducky replied, "I don't know, Jethro, you're accused of trying to kill him. I'm not sure if they'll let you up there, or if they'll even let us take the handcuffs off."  
  
"Please, Ducky." Gibbs' eyes were desperate, he had to see the younger agent, to see for himself how badly he'd been injured, and if those injuries were caused by himself.  
  
"I'll see what we can do." Ducky rose from his chair. "You just lie back and try to get some rest."  
  
Gibbs didn't say anything, he just lay there with his eyes closed, thinking back to the last time he remembered talking to Tony. It wasn't pretty.

 


	2. Chapter 2

_1 week earlier_

  
The elevator doors opened and Gibbs came storming off it, blowing into the squad room like a typhoon.  
  
Tony and Kate looked across at each other and then shrank down into their seats, unwilling to attract the ire of their obviously pissed-off boss. McGee had not been with the team very long and didn't know to leave well enough alone.  
  
"How'd the trial go, Boss?" he asked innocently.  
  
Gibbs fixed him with a look that could freeze fire. McGee gulped and stammered, "I... I...mean… um…" He looked over at Tony and Kate, who ducked their heads and suddenly found something very interesting on their computer screens.  
  
Gibbs turned and stalked off, presumably to get some coffee.  
  
"What did I say?" asked McGee, confused at the response of the older agent.  
  
"Probie," drawled Tony, sitting back and putting his hands behind his head, "when Gibbs comes in looking like somebody set fire to his boat, you just do everything you can to stay off his radar."  
  
Kate chimed in, "Yeah, and if he doesn't have his coffee with him, you pray that the coffee shop is open and they don't have some trainee at the counter, or blood may possibly be spilled."  
  
"Word from the courthouse is, Murphy was acquitted, which explains the big guy's mood," Tony relayed to the other agents.  
  
Kate shook her head. "Gibbs is going to be hard to live with, he was positive that the husband was guilty."  
  
Tony said, "Yeah, but you know, sometimes even Gibbs can make a mistake."  


Two months prior, the team had been called to the home of Petty Officer Leslie Murphy, a 27-year old computer specialist, who had been found by her husband, strangled. Roger Murphy was a civilian, 32-years old, and owner of a local gym, or "health club."  
  
The club had been experiencing financial trouble lately, and when Gibbs found out that Roger Murphy had been having an affair with a 22-year old yoga instructor at his establishment, he surmised that the husband had killed his wife for the insurance to save his business and free himself to be with his young mistress.  
  
But the jury didn't agree with Special Agent Gibbs and didn't feel the circumstantial evidence was enough to convict Murphy beyond a reasonable doubt. Even Gibbs' professional and intense testimony didn't convince them, and they moved to acquit.  
  
Kate said, "You know he's not going to leave it lie. He's going to look for more evidence until he proves he's right."

"Yeah, but he can't do anything about it, Kate. Double jeopardy." Tony leaned back further in his chair and grinned at his partner.  
  
Gibbs strode back into the squad room, coffee in one hand, a file in the other, which he tossed onto Tony's desk.  
  
"DiNozzo, get off your butt and look for anything that can break Murphy's alibi," he barked. "Start by going over the mistress' interview again."  
  
"Come on, boss," Tony protested. "We had her in the interrogation room for 6 hours. You went after her, I went after her and Kate went after her. There's nothing in her testimony that can be shaken."  
  
Gibbs' voice was like ice, "Look. Again."  
  
"To what end, boss?" argued Tony. "Murphy's been acquitted. There's a little something called 'double jeopardy' in civilian law. Even if we find a set of prints on his wife's throat he's already been tried for her murder, and the jury let him go. He can't be tried again."  
  
Gibbs slammed his chair back as he stood to face his agent. "Do you have a problem following orders, DiNozzo?"  
  
Tony didn't back down. "No, not usually, but this is a waste of time, Boss. We've gone over and over the evidence, we've scoured the scene, and we found nothing concrete and incontrovertible to place Murphy at the scene at the time of the murder."  
  
"He killed his wife, and we're going to prove it," growled Gibbs.  
  
"Why do you say that?" Tony's voice was challenging. "Is your gut telling you that? Why didn't you insist the DA wait until we had hard proof before taking this to trial?"  
  
"Tony." Kate's voice was strained as she tried to stop her partner from getting himself fired.  
  
Tony ignored the warning in her voice. "Maybe you were wrong, Boss. Maybe we should be looking for another suspect. Maybe you made a mistake."  
  
Gibbs walked over to Tony, stepping right up to the younger agent and getting into his personal space. "Yes, maybe I did make a mistake."  
  
Tony looked as if he had been slapped. He pushed his chair back slowly and stood up, his expression hurt. Without a word, he turned and picked up his pack and walked out of the squad room.  
  
Kate and McGee sat, shocked at what had just happened.  
  
Gibbs looked at both of them, daring them to challenge him, then left the squad room.

 


End file.
